A man looks at the menu outside K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015.

A man looks at the menu outside K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015.

Photo: Gerald Herbert, Associated Press

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In this 2007 file photo, chef Paul Prudhomme gestures during an interview at his French Quarter restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans. Prudhomme, the Cajun who popularized spicy Louisiana cuisine and became one of the first American restaurant chefs to achieve worldwide fame, died Thursday, Oct. 7, 2015. He was 75. (AP Photo/Bill Haber, File) less

In this 2007 file photo, chef Paul Prudhomme gestures during an interview at his French Quarter restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans. Prudhomme, the Cajun who popularized spicy Louisiana ... more

Photo: Bill Haber, Associated Press

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Cookbooks by Chef Paul Prudhomme are displayed in a window at K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. The proprietor, famed New Orleans Chef Paul Prudhomme, passed away Thursday. less

Cookbooks by Chef Paul Prudhomme are displayed in a window at K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. The proprietor, famed New Orleans Chef Paul Prudhomme, ... more

Photo: Gerald Herbert, Associated Press

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Paul Prudhomme put Cajun cooking on the national radar with his K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans.

Paul Prudhomme put Cajun cooking on the national radar with his K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans.

Photo: Michael Macor, SFC

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Chef Paul Prudhomme brought his Louisiana restaurant to San Francisco in 1983.

Chef Paul Prudhomme brought his Louisiana restaurant to San Francisco in 1983.

Photo: Chronicle Archive 1986

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Paul Prudhomme set up a version of his K Paul restaurant at the Old Waldorf nightclub in San Francisco
Photos shot 07/27/1983

Paul Prudhomme set up a version of his K Paul restaurant at the Old Waldorf nightclub in San Francisco
Photos shot 07/27/1983

Photo: John O'Hara, The Chronicle

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Paul Prudhomme set up a version of his K Paul restaurant at the Old Waldorf nightclub in San Francisco
Photos shot 07/27/1983

Paul Prudhomme set up a version of his K Paul restaurant at the Old Waldorf nightclub in San Francisco
Photos shot 07/27/1983

Photo: John O'Hara, The Chronicle

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Celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme dies, popularized Cajun cooking

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Paul Prudhomme, the Cajun-born celebrity chef who popularized New Orleans cuisine, died Thursday after a brief illness. He was 75.

Mr. Prudhomme, who died in New Orleans, was a seminal figure in the food and restaurant world as a charming culinary ambassador who forged a path that went beyond the walls of a kitchen and into mainstream America. In 1975, he made his name as the first non-European chef of New Orleans’ iconic Commander’s Palace restaurant. Four years later, he opened his still-buzzworthy K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in the city’s French Quarter, putting Cajun food on the national radar and propelling Mr. Prudhomme to celebrity chef status.

“At its peak in the 1980s, Prudhomme’s profile cast a shadow even over such culinary legends as Julia Child and James Beard, and there was no restaurant-world precedent for the celebrity he enjoyed,” wrote Brett Anderson of the Times-Picayune in New Orleans on the restaurant’s 25th anniversary in 2005.

But even though Mr. Prudhomme is best linked with New Orleans, he had an oft-overlooked connection to the Bay Area.

Photo: John O'Hara, The Chronicle

1n 1983, Paul Prudhomme set up a version of his K Paul restaurant at the Old Waldorf nightclub in San Francisco
Photos shot 07/27/1983

1n 1983, Paul Prudhomme set up a version of his K Paul restaurant...

In 1983, Mr. Prudhomme brought his wildly popular K-Paul to San Francisco — for 32 days.

At the time, San Francisco entertainment maven Bill Graham had a month left on the lease of his Battery Street club, the Old Waldorf, and invited the chef to replicate his New Orleans restaurant there.

Mr. Prudhomme accepted the offer and brought 22 members of his staff to San Francisco. Though he used mostly local ingredients — he found California’s sweet potatoes less flavorful than their Louisiana counterparts — he recreated signature dishes like gumbo, jambalaya, blackened fish and an appetizer of crawfish tails dubbed “Cajun popcorn.”

Lines snaked down the block as hundreds of people waited to get a taste of the world-famous restaurant. Some people waited for five hours; The Chronicle’s then-critic Patricia Unterman likened the temporary restaurant to Woodstock.